Manipur’s polo revival: where the world’s oldest team sport meets the modern game
Sagol kangjei — the ancestor of polo — is being played again on village maidan, with horses bred in the valley.
In the Imphal valley, where polo was born on the sagol kangjei — literally ‘pony hockey’ — a new generation is remounting the ancestral game.
The Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association has revived village tournaments, breeding the hardy Manipuri pony that almost vanished a generation ago.
The revival has drawn international attention, with players from Argentina and England arriving to play on the same fields where kings once competed.